DTI opens first Arabica coffee lab in country

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Dept. of Trade and Industry Tuesday opened the P4,048,000 first shared service facility (SSF) project for Arabica coffee postharvest processing and cupping laboratory in the country here at the Benguet State University.

The laboratory will continue research and extension services of the University for coffee farmers in the Cordillera, improve quality of Arabica coffee, enhance income generation and processors of quality Arabica Coffee products, which will jobs for coffee farmers and their families.

The facility is also expected to improve postharvest processing methods of Arabica coffee in production of quality coffee products; provide excellent service to coffee producers and processors; establish quality protocol in the production, postharvest processing, packaging and marketing of coffee products; and disseminate developed technologies on quality production, postharvest processing; and packaging to coffee farmers, processors and other stakeholders.

DTI regional operations group supervising Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said  the facility will be a big boost not only to coffee industry but to coffee farmers.

                “We have partnered with the Benguet State University to lift the coffee industry, especially Arabica coffee. Arabica coffee is one of the ten high value crops in the Cordillera Administrative Region and is recognized to be of excellent quality by the Coffee Foundation Institute of the Philippines,” Maglaya said.

Under the agreement with DTI-CAR, BSU will be the laboratory’s cooperator, who will manage and technically assist the facility while DTI-CAR regional office will regularly conduct monitoring and evaluation on site to ensure efficiency of service.

The DTI identified BSU as cooperator for its active research, extension, instruction and production of organically grown Arabica coffee.

Initially, the facility shall serve as a coffee laboratory and will later become a service center for coffee postharvest processing in order to attain its objectives. 

The use of the facility shall be free on the first year of operation and minimal service fees shall be collected on succeeding years.